Pages

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Skye - First Half Analysis

Alright so this'll be a bit boring, I expect. Here's the breakdown of my 500 species, as recorded by the end of March

Algae - 36 species (1 charophyte, 21 freshwater, 13 marine & 1 terrestrial with more to come)Protist - 1 species (Phytophthora ramorum on Rhododendron)Lichens - 39 species (could probably double this with a little bit of enthusiasm effort...)Fungi - 45 species (hoping for over 100 by year end)Bryophytes - 36 species (*sigh* - could do SO MUCH better! I lack the energy for these)Vascular Plants - 154 species (roughly halfway towards my hoped for target of 300)Sponges - 1 species (there are others here, need to improve somewhat!)Cnidarians - 1 species (low diversity here, but should drum up a few more, hopefully)Molluscs -28 species (plenty of improvement to be had. Must begin tackling snails properly!)Bryozoans - 2 species (again, plenty of room for improvement, but they're tricky wee things)Annelids - 7 species (myriad marine species, plus the earthworms, still on offer)Platyhelminths - 4 species (reckon there are at least a few more to be had. I'll keep looking)Arachnids - 13 species (masses of room for improvement here, is 100 possible???)Myriapods - 11 species (could possibly double this if I really knuckle down to it)Crustaceans - 10 species (reckon the sea could provide me with plenty more species yet)Springtails - 1 species (pathetic. Must improve radically, they're bloody everywhere!)Bristletails - 1 species (there's possibly another species up here too. Keep checking)Orthopterans - 1 species (Common Earwig. NEVER seen a grasshopper up here! Weird)Hemiptera - 7 species (early days yet, but I do need to put a lot more effort into these)Coleoptera - 9 species (just need to follow Tim around when he's up here, haha! )Diptera - 6 species (just starting with these, be great to hit 100 species this year)Moths - 14 species (I have a light trap this year, hoping for a good range of species)Small Orders - 2 species (1 lacewing, 1 mayfly. Expecting more, plus caddis to light trap)Echinoderms - 1 species (1 starfish. Really poor for these here, but hoping for extra species)Fish - 4 species (hoping to pretty much double this total by year end)Amphibians - 1 species (Common Frog. Might there be newts and toads up here too?)Birds - 61 species (really hoping to hit 100 species this year, but will need some luck)Mammals - 5 species (should make it to at least 10 species, hopefully more)Others - 1 species (Argonemertes dendyi - I reckon there's a second species up here too)

That should all add up to 502 species. I'm just about to renew my supply of tubes, replace my falling apart butterfly net, buy a proper beating tray and a decent aquatic net too. Plus I have a light trap this year. As if that wasn't enough, I have Ali, Pete and Tim descending for PSL Madness in late June. Fingers crossed I should smash the 1000 barrier by year end. If I don't, Andy will definitely have to eat his hat, seeing as he promised to in 2013 and didn't... ;)

I think with a certain kind of audience it's not as boring as you think :D Nick does lichens too I believe, so you should easily ramp up those numbers in June. Should double the bryo total pretty much. Been seeing any dinosaur footprints?